Circuit balancing valves used to adjust water flow in water circulation and supply systems are well known. A typical valve construction includes a valve body which defines flow passage therethrough having an inlet flow side and an outlet flow side, and which further includes a sealing member which may be selectively moved towards or away from a valve seat to permit or restrict fluid flow from the inlet passage side to the outlet passage side. Pressure valves in communication with each of the inlet and outlet flow sides of the valve body are used to meter fluid pressures across the valve seat to determine any drop in fluid flow rates through the valve. Depending on the drop in fluid flow rates, the sealing member is moved to open or close the valve, to regulate fluid flow in the water circulation system.
Prior art circuit balancing valves suffer the disadvantage in that as the water flows through the flow passage, eddy currents may form whereby water tends to flow in a direction about the flow passage sidewall and transverse to the direction of primary fluid flow. Eddy currents within the flow passage may in turn disrupt laminar fluid flow through the valve, adversely affecting the measurement of fluid pressures within the flow passage and providing inaccurate flow readings.